Scot free no longer

CARLTON footballer Heath Scotland has been convicted of assault after the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions won its appeal over the leniency of his penalty.

Back in October last year Scotland's ambitions to become a firefighter helped him escape a conviction over a king-hit that left a man unconscious in Mulwala.

The club champion was the only one of four men charged over the January 2012 brawl at the Mulwala Ski Club to escape both a fine and a criminal record.

But today Judge Paul Lakatos in the District Court in Albury found "previous information about (Scotland) wanting to work as a fireman has been shown to be incorrect."

Heath Scotland appears at the Albury Court House.

The judge convicted the club champion and put him on a 12-month bond.

Back in 2006 Scotland avoided a conviction when a magistrate in Melbourne took into account his career ambitions when he was charged over striking a woman in the face at the Next Blue nightclub in May 2005.

Deputy chief magistrate Paul Smith fined the footballer $3000, ordered he apologise to his victim and police, while warning him "you will only get this opportunity once".

Of course that that proved to be untrue on October 9 last year when Scotland managed to again escape a conviction using an eerily similar defence to his previous court appearance.

The day after that trial his lawyer Bernie Balmer told Fairfax radio he didn't believe Scotland had used the "I want to be a firefighter defence" before, but he quickly backtracked when asked about the 2006 case.

"I was there too," he conceded.

Today Scotland was represented by a new solicitor and barrister, with both Scotland and his lawyers refusing to comment after his latest sentence was handed down.